49ers drop preseason debut to Titans, 17-13

The San Francisco 49ers went with a lineup full of backups in their preseason debut against the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night and came up just short in the end, falling 17-13 to the Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

Nearly every projected starter was out of the lineup for the 49ers, while the Titans played a number of their starters in the game, including quarterback Will Levis. Brandon Allen started at quarterback for the 49ers, who exited the game after one half of play with 98 yards on 7-of-13 passing. Joshua Dobbs played the second half of the game at quarterback for the 49ers and finished with 146 yards on 14-of-20 passing with zero touchdowns and one interception while coming up empty on a potential game-winning drive while time expired.

Levis finished 4-of-5 for 35 yards for the Titans before leaving the game for backup Mason Rudolph, who finished 10-of-17 for 126 yards.

First Half

The 49ers got on the board on their opening possession, moving 74 yards in 11 plays to take a 7-0 lead on a four-yard run by running back Jordan Mason. Allen converted a 3rd-and-9 pass to wide receiver Ronnie Bell for 21 yards early in the drive to move into Titans' territory, then an 18-yard completion to wide receiver Chris Conley advanced the ball to the 15-yard line. From there the 49ers gave four consecutive handoffs to Mason, who eventually ran in for a touchdown to give the 49ers an early lead.

That lead vanished fairly quickly due in large part to a sloppy debut for the 49ers coverage team under the NFL's new kickoff rules. Titans return man Kearis Jackson broke free on the kickoff for a 63-yard return, then the Titans opened at the 49ers' 15-yard line after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the 49ers. After a defensive holding call in the end zone on a third down gave the Titans a 1st-and-Goal at the 1-yard line, Levis ran in from one yard out to tie the game at 7 with 6:05 remaining in the first quarter.

The 49ers punted on their second possession after five plays, then the Titans took over on their own 36-yard line late in the first quarter after a 26-yard return from Jha'Quan Jackson. The Titans followed with a seven-play, 64-yard drive that ended with a four-yard run from running back Tyjae Spears to open up a 14-7 lead.

A three-and-out from the 49ers followed Spears' touchdown. Then, with Rudolph in the game at quarterback, it looked like the Titans were poised to put some distance between themselves and the 49ers before halftime as they marched downfield to the 49ers' 11-yard line in 13 plays. But on a 4th-and-1 from the 2-yard line, rookie safety Malik Mustapha stepped up with the best defensive play of the first half for the 49ers when he stuffed running back Hassan Haskins for a loss and a turnover on downs.

The 49ers punted after six plays following Mustapha's stop, then the Titans drove 42 yards in seven plays to set up a 52-yard field goal attempt from kicker Nick Folk at the end of the first half. Folk's kick sailed wide right, leaving the score at 14-7 as the two teams headed into the break. The Titans finished the first half with 195 total yards compared to 128 for the 49ers.

Second Half

The Titans opened the half with at their own 24-yard line, then moved into 49ers' territory on six plays. But the drive stopped there due to a fumble on a handoff, which was recovered by the 49ers at their own 46-yard line. The ball was batted around on the ground for a bit following the fumble, then rookie defensive back Renardo Green made the recovery for the first turnover of the game.

Dobbs entered the game at quarterback for the 49ers on the next drive, which didn't start out well due to a holding penalty on the first play from wide receiver Ronnie Bell. A 15-yard completion to wide receiver Tay Martin got the ball across midfield, but the 49ers wound up punting back to the Titans, who took over at their own 17-yard line.

Malik Willis entered the game at quarterback for the Titans after the punt, then led the offense on a 9-play drive to the 42-yard line before the Titans were forced to punt back to the 49ers. The 49ers answered with a punt of their own, then the Titans took over at their own 35-yard line and moved into 49ers territory on a 28-yard run from Willis. The Titans later moved inside the 20, where they finished their drive with a 34-yard field goal from Brayden Narveson to extend their lead to 17-7 early in the fourth quarter.

The 49ers answered with an eight-play, 70-yard drive that culminated with a six-yard touchdown run from Dobbs to cut the lead to 17-13 halfway through the third quarter. The drive featured a 21-yard run and a 21-yard catch from wide receiver Trent Taylor, then Dobbs scored in highlight form when he ran around the right side before flipping into the end zone. The 49ers went for a two-point conversion after the touchdown but were unsuccessful.

The Titans took their next possession just across midfield before the 49ers took over with just over four minutes left to play with a turnover on downs. The 49ers moved to the Titans 35-yard line, where they faced a 4th-and-5 with 2:05 in the clock, but Dobbs took a 15-yard sack that gave the ball back to the Titans at the 50-yard line.

The Titans were unable to run out the clock and were forced to punt back to the 49ers, who took over at their own 20-yard line with with no timeouts and 1:32 left to play. Dobbs moved the ball past midfield with completions to tight end Cam Latu as well as Martin and Taylor, then another completion to Taylor put the 49ers at the 31-yard line. Then a false start on offensive lineman Drake Nugent forced a ten-second runoff, leaving six seconds on the clock. Dobbs took two shots at the end zone from there, with the first one falling incomplete and the second resulting in an interception that ended the game.

Game Notes: 49ers cornerback Ambry Thomas left the game in the second quarter due to a forearm injury... Among the possible regular season starters to have played for the 49ers Saturday night were safety Ji'Ayir Brown, guard Aaron Banks, and tackle Colton McKivitz... Even head coach Kyle Shanahan took a bit of a break Saturday night, as offensive pass game specialist Klay Kubiak took over play calling duties for the game. According to 49ers play-by-play man Greg Papa, Saturday night's game marked the first time in 148 games Shanahan allowed someone else to call the plays... The 49ers will be back in action on Sunday, August 18 against the New Orleans Saints at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, FOX).